Everything to Know About ‘The Matrix Resurrections’ Movie: Cast, Release Date and More

Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Everything to Know About 'The Matrix Resurrections' Movie: Cast, Release Date and More

After 18 years of waiting, Matrix fans will finally be able to return to the world of white rabbits and spoon-bending. Rumors about a fourth Matrix film first began circulating in 2017, but Warner Bros. didn't officially confirm the news until August 2019. At that point, Lana Wachowski, who cowrote and codirected the first three movies with her sister Lilly Wachowski, signed on to direct The Matrix Resurrections alone. The franchise’s stars Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Ann Moss also agreed to reprise their roles as Neo and Trinity, respectively. Though The Matrix Resurrections will likely be one of the biggest movies of 2021, franchise newcomer Neil Patrick Harris said it didn't feel that way during filming. “You would think that a giant movie would be 100 percent storyboarded, animatics, and we’d be checking off shots," the How I Met Your Mother alum told Variety in February 2021. "I think [Lana] lived that before three times over, and I would suspect that she wants to do things her own way now. It wasn’t often that you felt that you were doing something gigantic because she made it feel very intimate.” When The Matrix hit theaters in 1999, it became an instant sci-fi classic, beloved by fans and critics alike. Viewers also praised the movie for its groundbreaking visual effects — which now seem commonplace but were revolutionary at the time. In 2000, the film took home four Oscars, including Best Visual Effects and Best Film Editing. The cast have remained tight-lipped about the plot of the fourth movie, but Jessica Henwick has said that she thinks Lana's filmmaking skills will once again be front and center. "Lana is doing some really interesting things on a technical level in the same way that, you know, she created a style back then," the actress told ComicBook.com in October 2020. "I think she's going to change the industry again with this film. There's some camera rigs that I've never seen before that we're using. That's probably all I can say for that." Reeves, for his part, is thrilled to be returning to the role that made him into a bona fide action star. “Lana Wachowski wrote a beautiful script and a wonderful story that resonated with me,” he told Empire magazine in June 2020. “That’s the only reason to do it. To work with her again is just amazing. It’s been really special, and the story has, I think, some meaningful things to say, and that we can take some nourishment from.” Keep scrolling to find out more about The Matrix Resurrections: [podcast_block]

Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Everything to Know About 'The Matrix Resurrections' Movie: Cast, Release Date and More

After 18 years of waiting, Matrix fans will finally be able to return to the world of white rabbits and spoon-bending. Rumors about a fourth Matrix film first began circulating in 2017, but Warner Bros. didn't officially confirm the news until August 2019. At that point, Lana Wachowski, who cowrote and codirected the first three movies with her sister Lilly Wachowski, signed on to direct The Matrix Resurrections alone. The franchise’s stars Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Ann Moss also agreed to reprise their roles as Neo and Trinity, respectively. Though The Matrix Resurrections will likely be one of the biggest movies of 2021, franchise newcomer Neil Patrick Harris said it didn't feel that way during filming. “You would think that a giant movie would be 100 percent storyboarded, animatics, and we’d be checking off shots," the How I Met Your Mother alum told Variety in February 2021. "I think [Lana] lived that before three times over, and I would suspect that she wants to do things her own way now. It wasn’t often that you felt that you were doing something gigantic because she made it feel very intimate.” When The Matrix hit theaters in 1999, it became an instant sci-fi classic, beloved by fans and critics alike. Viewers also praised the movie for its groundbreaking visual effects — which now seem commonplace but were revolutionary at the time. In 2000, the film took home four Oscars, including Best Visual Effects and Best Film Editing. The cast have remained tight-lipped about the plot of the fourth movie, but Jessica Henwick has said that she thinks Lana's filmmaking skills will once again be front and center. "Lana is doing some really interesting things on a technical level in the same way that, you know, she created a style back then," the actress told ComicBook.com in October 2020. "I think she's going to change the industry again with this film. There's some camera rigs that I've never seen before that we're using. That's probably all I can say for that." Reeves, for his part, is thrilled to be returning to the role that made him into a bona fide action star. “Lana Wachowski wrote a beautiful script and a wonderful story that resonated with me,” he told Empire magazine in June 2020. “That’s the only reason to do it. To work with her again is just amazing. It’s been really special, and the story has, I think, some meaningful things to say, and that we can take some nourishment from.” Keep scrolling to find out more about The Matrix Resurrections: [podcast_block]

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Who's Coming Back?

In addition to Reeves and Moss, original trilogy actors Jada Pinkett Smith (Niobe), Lambert Wilson (the Merovingian) and Daniel Bernhardt (Agent Johnson) will return in their roles from the first three movies. There are a couple of very notable absences, though. Laurence Fishburne, who played Morpheus in the original, has claimed that he was not asked back for Resurrections. Hugo Weaving, who starred as Neo's nemesis Agent Smith, told Time Out London that he was offered a role in the new movie but couldn't make it work because of scheduling conflicts. 

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Who's New?

Candyman star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II will take over the role of Morpheus, though it's not clear whether he'll be playing a younger Morpheus or a different version entirely. None of the other new cast members' roles have been announced. In addition to Harris and Henwick, newcomers include Jonathan Groff, Christina Ricci, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Telma Hopkins, Eréndira Ibarra, Max Riemelt and Toby Onwumere. 

Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

What's It About?

This question will likely not be answered until the movie premieres, and the first trailer, released in September 2021, offered a few hints. Reeves claimed that the movie is "a love story," presumably between Neo and Trinity. "It’s another version of a kind of call to wake up and it has some great action," he teased during a September 2020 interview with the BBC. "All will be revealed.” He added that Resurrections would not be "going in the past.”

Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

When Does It Premiere?

The Matrix Resurrections hits theaters on December 22, 2021. Starting the same day, it will be available to stream via HBO Max for 30 days.